Hemmed In On Every Side
I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and my husband and I sure do appreciate our pastor.
And that is as it should be, given that October is Pastor Appreciation Month. Maybe your church made mention of that this past Sunday; I know ours did. And the congregation was able to give a little gift of appreciation to Pastor Bob Bjerkaas. Our pastor was trained at the Reformed Theological Seminary, and Ken and I love his preaching. And it also helps that Pastor Bob has a disability. He’s got retinitis pigmentosa and is legally blind. It means this man, for the most part, preaches without notes. And I love it. Because Pastor Bob, although he has a visual impairment, he speaks with authority when it comes to preaching about suffering. Like the other Sunday…
We were in Psalm 139. And I’m sure you’re familiar with that passage where God reminds us that His hand is upon us even before we were born. Where can we go from His presence? Nowhere. God’s constantly with us. Reading Psalm 139 is like reading one blessing after the next. Every verse is a blessing, even verse 5 where it says, “[God], You hem me in behind and before, and You lay your hand upon me.” Woah, I love that, because yes, God has hemmed me in with this wheelchair; and yes, God has hemmed me in with paralysis; and yes, God has hemmed me in with all the difficulties connected with my quadriplegia; I’m hemmed in on every side and there are many, many things I cannot do. But I can rejoice in my suffering; I can give thanks in and for everything. Why? Because of Psalm 139. He lays His hand upon me. And you cannot receive a bigger, better blessing than that! “[God], You hem me in behind and before, and (I love this…) You lay your hand upon me.” Think about that. The God of the universe who created the stars and called it all His finger work; this God whose strong right arm of salvation rescued you – this God lays His hand on you.
Oh, friend, the God of the Bible is not some far-off, meditating, mystic; He doesn’t observe you from His ivory tower, looking down on you, detached and aloof. He does not keep himself at arms-length distance from you and your needs. No, He lays His hand upon you. That Almighty God reaches down and places His own tender hand upon you. That is an assurance, that’s a wonderful promise for those around whom He places a confining hedge. Yes, God may hem you in on all sides, preventing you from doing the things you would so love to do, but as 2 Corinthians chapter 1 says, it all happens “… that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God.”
Sitting there on a Sunday morning listening to Pastor Bob Bjerkaas preach on Psalm 139? Especially verse 5? It touched my heart. Because there are many things I feel hemmed about; yet God reaches down and touches me; He lays His hand on me. So, do you feel confined? It’s okay. Because if God has hemmed you in, you are in the best place to feel His touch. And that may be the sweetest thing about Psalm 139, and it is your blessing today. Oh, and may I bless you more? I rarely push my own writings, but I’ve done more than a few books on this topic, and I so want to help you. So, find out about those books by visiting joniradio.org, where we’ve provided a link to our online store. In closing, I thank the Lord for Pastor Bob and his sermons, like this one from Psalm 139. And, hey, remember it is Pastor Appreciation Month, so jot a note of gratitude to your pastor. Praise God that He lays His hand on that one who faithfully preaches the Word to you.
© Joni and Friends
Joni’s 70th Birthday Fundraiser!
October 15th marked a big milestone for Joni. She turned 70! With every year, she is working harder to reach more people with disabilities for Christ and so, the rest of October, she is looking for more friends to donate $70 dollars each to Joni and Friends to serve more people living with disabilities worldwide! Want to join the celebration?
Donate!
